Alu-associated enhancement of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the human genome

Identifying features shaping the architecture of sequence variations is important for understanding genome evolution and mapping disease loci. In this study, high-resolution scanning of Alu-centered alignments of the human genome sequences has revealed a striking elevation of the frequency of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the body and tail of Alu sequences compared to flanking regions. This enhancement in SNP density is evident for all twenty-four chromosomes, and in both the Alu-body and Alu-tail, which together may be referred to as the Alu-SNPs. Reduced levels of Alu-SNPs in the sex chromosomes, especially in the non-recombining NRY region of the Y chromosome, are consistent with recombination events playing an important role in the enhancement. The Alu elements are unstable recombination-mutation hotspots in the human genome, and it is suggested that the Alu-SNPs represent a key manifestation of this instability. Variations in Alu-SNPs among the HapMap populations of northern and western European ancestry (CEU), Han Chinese from Beijing (CHB), Japanese from Tokyo (JPT), and Yoruba from Ibadan, Nigeria (YRI) indicate that the Alu-SNPs provide useful sequence markers, in addition to the Alu-insertion polymorphisms themselves, for the delineation of human genome evolution. That Alu-SNP levels are highest in the youngest Alu-Y, intermediate in the Alu-S of intermediate age, and lowest in the oldest Alu-J is consistent with the occurrence of not only genetic drift but also natural selection on the Alu-SNPs. Such evolutionary selection in turn suggests that Alu-SNPs might include potential sites of disease association, and therefore deserve detailed investigation.